1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to product marketing in retail shelf-space presentations. More particularly, the present invention relates to a product marking system that utilizes retail shelf channels for displaying product and brand markers corresponding to products displayed on such shelves.
2. Description of the Related Art
Product presentation and promotion in retail shelve space is a highly competitive field, where all competitors seek consumer attention through presence, branding, and display features. This is readily apparent by simply studying retail product packaging designs and colors. For example, consider snack foods such as candy, snacks, chips, and such. These products are packaged in bright colors with high contrast and dynamic patterns designed to garner consumer attention. Such products are typically displayed on retail shelving, which is an industry in and of itself. Common retail shelf structures include the gondola shelf, the wall shelf, the end cap display, as well as other shelving structures known to those skilled in the art. Retail shelves are typically specified by a shelf width, depth, and height, where the shelf structure has plural individual shelves along its height. Individual shelves have a front edge, which is typically terminated with a shelf channel on its outer edge. The shelf channel is thus located closest to a customer perusing the products displayed on the shelf.
The shelf channel has been used for placement of price information, decoration, and marketing information for many decades because it presents and excellent location to attract the consumer's attention. So much so, that the shelf channel has become a standardized interface, most commonly a 1¼ inch ‘C’-channel into which strips of paper, paperboard, cardboard, and polymeric materials imprinted with information and decoration are inserted. These items include price tags, shelf talkers, product and branding information, as well as other printed matter, collectively referred to as product markers. Retailers prefer to maintain all such product markers in a clean, neat, and orderly appearance so as to leave consumers with a favorable impression of the products displayed.
In the retail environment, consumers have access to the products and shelving, so these items are exposed to product turnover, product changes, changing marketing strategies, and the general wear and tear of the consumer retail environment. For these, and other, reasons, product markers placed into shelf channels are frequently changed. Often times, the task of replacing product markers is accomplished by a vendor's representative, who maintains a large amount of shelf space at multiple retail locations. The task of changing product markers in shelf channels is usually secondary to the primary tasks related to maintaining the product inventory disposed on the shelves. Thus it can be appreciated that there is a need in the art for a system and method for efficiently maintaining retail shelf channel product markers that is efficient, neat, orderly, low cost, and that does not overly burden the time and tasks of the individual tending to these activities.